Instead of giving the media any kind of updates on the Princess of Wales’s health and recovery, Kensington Palace is seemingly going back to its pre-hospitalization conversations about which school Prince George will attend when he turns 13. It’s believed that Prince William wants George to attend his alma mater, Eton, while Kate is seemingly putting up a huge fight about sending George to any boarding school. For a while, she wanted her kids to go to her alma mater, Marlborough, but now Kate apparently thinks that school is “too flashy” and she wants a school which reeks of understated wealth. Last week, we heard that Oundle School is suddenly being considered, and this week, we’re hearing of a different school: St. Edward’s School in Oxford. From the Eden Confidential column:
While Oundle has been thrust into the spotlight thanks to suggestions that the Prince and Princess of Wales may favour it for Prince George, I can disclose that there is another co-educational public school which has caught their attention.
It’s £47,000-a-year ‘Teddies’, as St Edward’s School in Oxford is known. Its ‘Warden’ — headmaster — is the almost impossibly gifted Alastair Chirnside. As an Oxford undergraduate he took a Congratulatory First — conferred perhaps only once in a decade for exceptional brilliance — in Classics and French, and also won a Half-Blue for rowing in Oxford’s lightweight crew. After a stint in the City with blue chip fund manager Schroders, he switched to teaching — and, it seems, caught the eye of William and Kate.
‘They’ve been to have a look,’ a Teddies grandee tells me.
The school’s extraordinary alumni include Dambusters leader Guy Gibson and fellow RAF legend Douglas Bader, as well as actor Laurence Olivier and Oppenheimer star Florence Pugh.
As the Mail noted in a follow-up story, “The Princess underwent ‘successful’ planned abdominal surgery more than three weeks ago and is currently resting at her Windsor home of Adelaide Cottage, so it’s unclear when exactly the royal couple looked around.” It would be genuinely weird if everyone was like “damn, is Kate in a coma?” and she was well enough to visit potential schools for George two years in advance. Like, that’s how far away all of this is too – I get that these fancy boarding schools are different and the schools probably have waiting lists a mile long, but we’re talking about the second in line to the throne. George will get into any school he wants, which is why it’s so weird that Kate is apparently obsessed with finding options beyond Eton, especially since this all started three years before George would even enroll.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte arrive on day fourteen of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only – no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos.,Image: 789477112, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only – no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos., *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Victoria Jones / Avalon
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- Prince George in the royal box during the mens’ finals on Day 14 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, UK, 16 July 2023,Image: 789502080, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
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- Princess Charlotte and Prince George during the mens’ finals on Day 14 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, UK, 16 July 2023,Image: 789502286, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
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- Tennis : Wimbledon 2023 – Angleterre – Finale simple Messieurs- Victoire de Carlos Alcaraz Espagne contre Novak Djokovic Serbie – Kate Princess of Wales remet le trophee,Image: 789504865, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Tennis : Wimbledon 2023 – Angleterre – Finale simple Messieurs- Victoire de Carlos Alcaraz Espagne contre Novak Djokovic Serbie – Royal Box – Kate Princess of Wales,Image: 789705684, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales, known as the Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, meets farmers at Brodieshill Farm, Moray, Scotland, to learn about efforts being made to better support the mental health and wellbeing of young people, in Moray, Scotland.,Image: 819149516, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales attend The “Together At Christmas” Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 08, 2023 in London, England. Spearheaded by The Princess of Wales, and supported by The Royal Foundation, the service is a moment to bring people together at Christmas time and recognise those who have gone above and beyond to help others throughout the year.,Image: 827907503, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince Louis attend Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene church, Sandringham, United Kingdom, on 25 December 2023.,Image: 832317075, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon
The public hasn’t had a look at Kate, which is fueling the conspiracy theories.
Why isn’t there more interest in #whereiskate? So strange given the public’s attention to all things in the Royal Family.
Surely it’s not that bad because otherwise Pippa wouldn’t have gone on holidays.
1) Pippa doesn’t like her sister, never have. She sold nasty stories to paps pre-wedding. They are not an happy family.
2) Kate contrary to popular belief isn’t liked. Only derangers really follow her usually on the DM. On numerous sites like Reddit, people only talk about her to say inuendo or what they would do to her and generally they are not many. That’s why she hates Meghan. She is soooo bland that nobody truly care about her but a few older (and more probably male) monarchists.
Pippa would not put her d**n whole life on hold (especially when she has kids) because her ADULT sister is gravely ill. The only hint you can glean about K from Pippa’s vacay is that K isn’t on death’s door. That’s all.
The article with the “Pippa Pics” deliberately did not state the date the photos were actually taken.
The article was meant as distraction and obfuscation for the real issue: Kate hasn’t been seen alive, in public, since Christmas Day. 60 days on Saturday.
The article about school hunting for wee George also didn’t mention specific dates. The palaces and rota think they’re being slick, but the ploys are transparent. They aren’t fooling anyone. Every time WhereIsKate starts trending hard on Twitter they scramble to put another empty article like this up. I doubt the rota can keep this charade up the rest of the year.
If Kate was at any risk of dying they would have doctors briefing the media daily to avoid any speculation they killed her.
This is giving “the Queen signed off on Camilla as being queen in time” vibes when E2 was heavily medicated and Charles was just doing and saying anything in the Queens name without her permission and getting away with it.
For sure. This isn’t Kate speaking. William has no-one left to throw under the bus, and nothing left to feed the press in exchange to keep his real mess under wraps, so he’s drip feeding them this nonsense. At this point, Will is a corrupted asset. God knows what mess he’s in. I believe he’s heavily under the influence of substances, and political and media figures. I honestly think Kate fled and Charles and Camilla don’t dare go anywhere near him. On that note… has anyone seen the children? Or were they also last seen at Christmas with Kate?
💯🎯 spot on Moxylady
Just more distractions for where is Can’t.
Yes, exactly. There have been a couple of these recently and they are there to obfuscate her absence and suggest she is active in some way.
It would genuinely be outrageous if she was well enough to scope out potential schools and still refuse to work for months.
If they looked at this school, it was before the ‘surgery.’ It’s an evergreen fallback story KP can roll out to distract from Will’s screw ups.
It’s super weird, really. Almost as though the tabs are legally required to publish stories about the royals every day. Or it’s considered a standard part of a newspaper: news, sports, weather, comics, royal sycophancy.
And also so not imaginative, just a rehash….
It’s scary to me at how easily Kate has been excised by the royal family. She was supposed to have “done everything right,” unlike Diana and Meghan. She was silent, biddable, inscrutable, a blank slate for the racists to project their White Woman Fantasies onto.
Now she has just…vanished. These feeble “she’s resting” reminders aren’t doing it. Where’s the proof of life? And didn’t she go to Anmer–now they are saying she’s at Adelaide? Isn’t this exactly what they would be saying if there was indeed something to hide?
It’s ironic–she banked everything on getting the Big Blue and the HRH, only to discover that no one seems to care about her. There’s an object lesson here for the Patron Saint of Pick Me’s–you can contort yourself into whatever shape you need to in order to prove you’re “not like other girls,” but at the end of the day, you’re still at the mercy of your hideous spouse, and whatever he decides to do with you.
Her disappearance off the face of the planet is really starting to give Shelley Miscavage vibes. And, yes, it’s extremely scary and creepy.
I was thinking the same thing…
My theory was that she’d had bowel surgery and then she experienced complications that required an ileostomy. Many people with ileostomies live normal lives but if you are unlucky (like my ex spouse) and the stoma is botched, you can’t really live a public life for fear the appliance will detach. I understand the need for privacy and recovery time in that scenario. But even so, they could prop her up in a chair in street clothes and show her reading to the children or something! This is the woman who appeared in full hair and makeup less than a day after giving birth. Something is very out of the norm here.
And the press is not asking. I think they know and they know it’s not good. They are waiting for their marching orders from the palace.
@Lanne, so poignantly stated. That is a powerful lesson indeed – but I doubt the people who really need to heed it will.
It is clear there is some kind of omertà on discussing kate because the UK morning shows talk about everything and yet none have mentioned her in any way. Meanwhile they had a fit over a website name for several days.
That not one outlet has gone rogue and said something really suggests something serious.
Question for c/bs living in Britain: I’ve read that Kate has also disappeared from the covers of British gossip magazines for the past two months…is it true? 🤔…if gossip magazines and morning shows don’t mention her, there’s definitely an omerta and things are more serious than they tell us..
Her owns fans don’t even care.
Contrast this with Britney’s fans who raised he!! to raise awareness of something they weren’t even sure was a problem for her. No way would MM fans be silent if she disappeared.
Diana’s fans wouldn’t have been silent either. American TV shows would be shouting from the rooftops.
Kate never bothered to make a fan base for herself, so she’s at the mercy of the Windsors. She could be buried underneath Windsor Castle and no one would know. How long will it be until people start asking questions in the UK? The regular people don’t seem to care, and the media, I guess, has its orders. If she’s conscious enough to follow what’s happening, this has to feel awful for her. She’s slated to be the queen of her country and no one seems to care where she is or how she’s doing.
I think that this is just another posh school throwing their proverbial hat in the ring. Why not? It’s basically free advertising and KP is unlikely to dispute it.
The barbed digs at Marlborough aside, most of these school mentions read as advertorials to me. Like, George is going to Eton, everyone knows he’s going to Eton, but in the meantime why not get some “Royal Foundation donations” in exchange for some well-placed pr blurbs.
It’s just like getting freebies in exchange for the publicity she draws from wearing them, it’s like influencing for the new money glitterati jetset type, if not the aristos Kate aspires to. I absolutely would believe KP does stuff like that, just like the vast majority of influencers or public figures.
Either that or the new secretary has NO idea how to cover Kate’s absence and so they dusted off an old binder Jason Knauf left behind full of Keen Komms ideas and are just playing mad libs with the details.
What a weird story. It sounds like an advertisement for the school and headmaster/warden.
Also, Oxford would mean boarding, right? so which is it? Is Kate so down to earth and hands on that she can’t hear for her children to board, or she’s okay with them boarding, just not at Eton?
Marlborough would definitely mean boarding too. It is located too far from Adelaide cottage to do a school run.
To be fair, if Wills or Kate actually had to do the infamous School Run to Marlborough or Oxford, they would be able to legitimately claim it left them no time in their day for any other ‘work’…
so…why wouldn’t the heir of the heir just go to Eton? Is there a minimum cutoff for scores, and he didn’t make it? why all this drama?
At this point, did they ever look at any of these schools? It practically reads like advertisement for the schools. Is enrollment down? Look, the future king is considering our school with our brilliant headmaster.
Edit- just saw your post @becks1 and @sunday and @jay and yeah we’re all on the same page. It feels like an ad.
Where’s Kate????!!!!
Charles, Will-not and Harry were sent to boarding school as 8 year olds. It is actually somewhat progressive and a change in former protocol that George is not already boarding. (Anne barely got an education and Charlotte better get an education comparable to George). The choice of school seems like a weird hill for Kate to stand on, especially with the “I am not a snob” argument. She is so needy and desperate to fit in with the aristocrats that she can’t even allow George to dress appropriately for the weather on a blazing hot day or wear a team jersey to a sporting event.
The overarching question really is WHERE IS KATE?? This sounds like school’s trying to elevate their visibility because there’s no way Kate is visiting campuses right now but not working.
I also would like to know where her green plaid jacket is from. I’m guessing Burberry? It’s really nice.
As a retired educator, I would like to mention that both of these schools are inclusive and strongly support kids with special needs. Plus, in the case of the Teddies (=St Edward’s) where George would indeed be a border a stronger emphasis for the kids who wish it on art, music, drama, service and sports.
If there’s reluctance about Eton, it seems to indicate that this child is too vulnerable to cope with a school such as Eton.
Charles was in no way suitable for Gordonstoun but he was sent there to “toughen him up.” I could see Eton having the same effect on the Wales kids if needed. I don’t think anyone’s thinking about what’s best for those kids.
@Tennyson, thanks for your input regarding the two additional schools mentioned as prospects for George. I get the sense that he is sensitive and creative with interests in art and dance. It would be good if the eventual school choice actually suits his needs and his personality. Sadly, the way this family institution rolls, I suspect TPTB (courtiers and Pa Willy) will stick to the traditional, expected choice of Eton without regard for George’s specific needs and interests.
It would be refreshing if George got to freely choose for himself without adhering to what he thinks his Pa prefers.
And there’s still the question that won’t go away, and apparently won’t be answered either: “Where’s Kate?” 😳
Did she take a tour via Ouija board? Seriously, where is this woman?
Comment of the day 😂
It does sound like they are giving publicity to who’s who list of posh boarding schools in England. The search for George’s school seems to be becoming a long saga. As per Tennyson’s comment, perhaps George does have an artistic bent and Eton might not be the best school for that. If so, they are at least being responsible parents looking for the right school. Are the last two all boys schools?
^^ Apparently, Teddie’s (St. Edward’s) is not all boys. Florence Pugh is mentioned as a famous alumnae.
I just checked Oundle’s website. It is a co-ed boarding school too.
@Tamsin, in this school choice aspect, hopefully George’s parents will be responsible in finding the school that’s best for him. However, I think that hope is in doubt since it has already been reported that Will prefers Eton, and Kate is against sending George there. IOW, George’s parents have reportedly argued over it, and are seemingly not on the same page regarding this school search. Most people seem to feel that Eton will win out regardless, which would be a shame. As we have learned, Eton was apparently okay for Willy, but it was the wrong school choice for Harry.
And the pertinent question remains: “Where’s Kate?”
I know if I am looking for a school in 2024 finding one where Laurence Olivier attended over a hundred years ago would certainly tip me over in its favor.
I LOL’d, Harper.
But also, where is Kate?
I wonder if the need to decide early has to do with security concerns. I would imagine it would take a while to arrange everything. Who knows?
Richard Eden tweeted about this and had clarify in replies to tweets that this visit was done before Kate went on sick leave. It just seems like a waste of time and energy to be talking about this non-issue. Wherever George goes to school is not an interesting story to me. The British press should be more concerned about Kate’s condition instead.
So, he’s just thrown old news to fill the space..got it!!
Where the hell is Kate? Why aren’t all her Karen stans clamoring for proof of life? Did William do something to her and the Powers-That-Be are scrambling for a believable narrative?
And why has Carole gone utterly silent?
They hate Meghan. They don’t love Kate. Kate was just a proxy for their hatred of Meghan, the equivalent of a sentient doll.
Maybe Carole got a job to pay her debts? Maybe she’s driving Uber with a hat pulled down low so no one knows its her?
I have the feeling whatever “wheriskate” means, “wherearethemidds” are negotiating in the background and that will become part of the deal. The RR cant say it, but they know it – so here we go with an odd article.
It shows their complete disregard for the public as well. Feeding stories to distract and deflect. They think people are morons who won’t question what’s really going on.
Desperately running out of things to write about.
I know they’ve clarified that the visit took place before her hospitalization, but upon reading the title, some really dark part of me imagined them pulling a “Weekend at Bernie’s,” throwing sunglasses onto a comatose Kate and wheeling her around a school facility because look, she’s fine, really!!!! Please don’t ask!!!
Maybe George’s school is a major sticking point in the separation/divorce agreement.
It’s all Meghan’s fault
I live in Oxford and go to a gym on the grounds of this school. I’m inclined to think that schools are planting these stories to up their popularity and/or KP is planting them as a giant smokescreen to distract from whatever is afflicting Waity. This school would definitely not have the security capacity to house The Heir–the public drive freely in and out to get to the gym. Then again, this school is known locally as a magnet for the thickest (in the English sense of dim witted) posh kids, so maybe it is just right for little George!